Artist's Designs for a Huqqah Mouthpiece (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
These lively sketches were likely done by a metal crafter to record designs used to make the often-elaborate mouthpieces attached to the long flexible tubes, or “snakes,” of an Indian water pipe or huqqa. Animal motifs, both real and imagined, figureprominently in the designs. One features the bejeweled hand of a woman. Drawings of this sort were used by an artist to develop and document his designs, as well as to show prospective clients examples of work that could be ordered from his studio. A closely related huqqa mouthpiece may be seen in the painting to the left/right.
Gift of Terence McInerney
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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